A heavy wave of airstrikes and explosions hit Tehran and several other Iranian cities early Monday morning, targeting airport infrastructure and military sites in what local and opposition networks describe as extensive Israeli and US attacks.
Early Monday, March 16, 2026, a massive series of explosions struck the Iranian capital and multiple other cities in what local and opposition channels describe as heavy military strikes by Israel and the United States. According to the local news channel تهران آنلاین ࡆ TehranOnline, at least 30 explosions were heard within a single hour in Tehran, a post they accompanied with the flags of Iran, Israel, and the US to signal the belligerents. The political news channel کافه سیاست 🖤 characterized the barrage as the heaviest attack, reporting extensive Israeli army attacks across Tehran and news regarding the beginning of US attacks.
In western Tehran, the popular citizen journalism aggregator Vahid Online published numerous eyewitness videos of the destruction. One submitted report stated that the Ekbatan neighborhood near the airport was "hit badly," citing at least seven to eight blasts with earthquake-like tremors. Another video captured a burning airplane at Mehrabad Airport, with the sender noting it "keeps exploding due to fuel." Additional strikes reportedly targeted several fuel-related sites around the airport, behind Ekbatan, and near Azadi Square, with witnesses reporting the sky turned red three or four times amid the blasts.
The Saudi-backed, opposition-aligned network Iran International detailed that massive explosions were heard across the west, center, north, and southwest of Tehran between 2:50 and 3:30 AM, shaking windows in northern neighborhoods like Niavaran. Eastern Tehran was also heavily targeted, with کافه سیاست 🖤 reporting that at least 15 bombs struck the Sorkheh Hesar area alongside over 10 consecutive explosions elsewhere in the east.
The strikes were not limited to the capital. According to Iran International, fighter jets and massive explosions were reported nationwide, including midnight blasts in Bandar Abbas, severe explosions in Behbahan, and a 30-minute fighter jet presence over Larestan, where five to six blasts occurred and local missile defense systems were fired. Fighter jets were also heard over Arak, Karaj, and the Sarbaz region in Baluchestan, while کافه سیاست 🖤 noted explosions and jets in Chabahar. As of the early hours of Monday, no official government reports regarding casualties or the exact source of the attacks had been released.
The source material universally portrays a massive, coordinated military assault on Iran, with clear attributions from the channels pointing to the US and Israel. Iran International provides highly detailed regional breakdowns, while Vahid Online focuses heavily on the severe impact in West Tehran (specifically Mehrabad Airport and Ekbatan). The tone across these channels is urgent and explicitly frames the event as an unprecedented external attack on Iranian soil.